I am too lazy to do an actual write up on the FAIR
Conference, so I’ll just refer you to Blair Hodges summaries of the talks on
the Maxwell Institute Blog. John Gee also has a brief report. The FAIR Blog has also reported on important news from the Conference. Instead, I want to focus just a little bit on the
part of the FAIR Conference that was all about me.
That is right – a small, teeny-tiny part of the conference
was about ME!
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Me being a total idiot after receiving the award. Photo Courtesy of Roger Nicholson |
What I should have
said when getting my award
I am literally speechless, which is quite frankly rather
rare – just ask my wife. It is truly an honor and privilege to be given this
award today. It would be remiss, however, to not offer a few thanks to people
who made it possible.
First, I should say something of my partner-in-crime, Hales
Swift. It is unfortunate, if you ask me, that Hales couldn’t be here to bask in
the limelight, because he really deserved this a lot more than I did. It was
his idea, and though I helped get things off the ground, and continue to stay involved,
he really has been the driving force behind it this whole time. I would go to
add some more articles only to be shocked at how much more Hales had done to
add to it and improve it since the last time I had worked on it. Hales really
deserves the lion’s share of the credit.
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Me holding my trophy after the conference. |
I would also like to briefly mention James Stutz, another
FAIR volunteer who helped with an early incarnation of the Study Aids where we
attempted to organize materials by Gospel Doctrine lesson. He and I eventually
got behind and burned out on that, but he put in some solid work that deserves
some level of recognition.
Second, my wife McKall deserves to be thanked and given some
recognition, because all the effort and time I put into this is her sacrifice as
much as it is mine. In fact, in some ways it is more of a sacrifice on her
part, because while I get to do things I enjoy and be involved in something
that is important to me, she just gets a husband who is often busy and
distracted. And yet, she has supported me and encouraged me every step of the
way. She incredible, and I love her very much.
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It has my name engraved and everything! |
The final thing I would like to add is, we need help. Hales
and I have talked often about how to get others involved in helping us develop the
best, most useful tool for scripture study that this could possibly be. I am
dead serious when I say that we want this to be the best scripture study tool
on the whole darn planet, and we need help if that is ever going to happen.
And, the best news is, if you can read and send email, you are qualified to
help us. All we need people to do is read articles and tell us which scripture
references and/or topics they would best fit under so we can get them
accurately cataloged. Please, please, please – if you are at all interested,
talk to me afterwards and we can get you set up to help. (Seriously, please
comment on the blog/facebook comment or message me if you would like to help.)
Also, if you would like to benefit from this project, aside
from going to the Study Aids section of the Wiki, you can also join our Facebook
page, FAIR LDS Scripture Study Aids. There you will receive updates (new
articles) regularly, and see feature articles and videos that will enhance your
study of the scriptures.
Again, I would just like to thank everyone, including Scott
Gordon, John Lynch, and others at FAIR for giving me the opportunity to help,
and say that I look forward to continuing to help in whatever ways I can. Thank
you.
Congratulations, Neal! It was nice meeting you on Thursday at the conference.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nathaniel, it was likewise a pleasure to meet you. I hope we have many other opportunities to get know each other better.
DeleteWhen did this award's ceremony occur? Did you know ahead of time that you were receiving it? And if so, you didn't invite your parents to come and witness this great occasion?
DeleteEven so, I'm proud of you and wish we could have been there. I love you too!
Hi Mom,
DeleteIt was on Friday at the FAIR Conference in Provo. No, I did not know ahead of time. But, I guess I should be inviting you guys to the FAIR Conference anyway, since everyone should be going to these! (Haha.)